Matthew Layton and Sam Rickard present Studio 1 - Vision Australia Radio’s weekly look at life from a low vision and blind point of view.

This week:

The world’s fastest blind man on two wheels - and that’s official. 

His name is Ben Fetlen, he’s a current Guinness World Record holder and a card-carrying Australian bloke 

However, while this show might at first seem to be about Ben racing across the South Australian salt flats at 266kph on a motorbike without being able to see where he’s going, there is actually something a little more important at its heart.

Here at Studio 1 we’re always keen to explore the link between blindness, low vision and particularly sight loss and mental health issues.

In this episode of Studio 1 Ben talks incredibly frankly, eloquently and generously - about the effect that losing his sight in his mid twenties had on his life.

As well as losing his sight, Ben lost his career, his independence and the relationship with his partner at the time.

At his lowest ebb, Ben ended up self-medicating with alcohol and soft drugs, getting into fights in pubs and eventually got himself into so much trouble that he ended up in jail.

Ben goes onto tell us how, with the help of a brilliant counsellor, he managed to get his life back on track.

He is without doubt the most eloquent person we’ve had on this show on the subject of sight loss and mental health and we’re incredibly grateful to him for sharing his story with us.

If you think that what Ben has to say may help someone going through this kind of issue, please share it with them.

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CALL or TEXT: 04 500 78834

EMAIL: [email protected]  

TWITTER: http://twitter.com/varadionetwork and http://twitter.com/whingeingpom 

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GUESTS AND RESOURCES

Ben Felten

Mentoring - Insightofdreams.org

Speed record adventures - blindspeed.com.au

[PHOTO CAPTION: A striking image of Studio 1 guest Ben Felten standing on the bright white ground of the South Australian salt flats under a clear blue sky. Next to him is his guide rider Kevin Magee. They are standing in front of their world record-breaking motorcycles.]

Vision Australia gratefully acknowledges the support of the Community Broadcasting Foundation for Studio 1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.